


I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

by bumbleb_tch



Series: Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Dork, M/M, Mistletoe, Oikawa Tooru is a Good (Bad) Friend, That's it, and apparently i can't write anything without him, but it IS technically a continuation of a coffee shop au, ft. Oikawa because your honour that is my emotional support menace, is this Technically a coffee shop au? no, liberal use of the word 'fuck' cause they are tired and awkward college students, same difference, that's the fic, this is literally over 5k of Kuroo embarrassing himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumbleb_tch/pseuds/bumbleb_tch
Summary: Kuroo slammed the door behind him and slumped against it, hollering into the room. “I just humiliated myself in front of the hottest guy.”“You humiliate yourself in front of me everyday, Tetsu-chan.” A snarky drawl immediately piped back from the general direction of the sofa.Tetsurou tossed his shoes off and peeled off his -incredibly damp- socks with a scowl fixed on his face. “Shut the fuck up, I’m blaming you for this."---Just Kuroo creating drama for himself by being a self conscious dork that overthinks things ft. terrible roommate Oikawa making it Worse
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Series: Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071809
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92
Collections: Haikyuu Secret Santa 2020





	I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Masquerabiandays](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masquerabiandays/gifts).



> Hello lovelies!!
> 
> First of all, a huuuuge happy holidays to Masquerabiandays who was my Secret Santa for the Tumblr HQSS 2020!!
> 
> This is a big jump from my usual stuff, I know. I hope that I managed the characterization all right, it really gave me some trouble and somehow Oikawa ended up involved because I apparently just Cannot do without him. 
> 
> As always, I owe my life and sanity to my beta, Papillon10 <3

“Excuse me."

Kuroo jerked from sleep, startling upright and nearly toppling to the floor as he blinked blearily until the blurry image of an individual half swam into focus in front of him. Every inch of his body ached and his mouth was so dry that he entertained the fleeting thought that he’d somehow managed to gargle a cup of sand in his sleep. 

“Huh? Are you one of Oikawa’s friends?” he mumbled out around his seemingly swollen tongue. The haze over his eyes finally began to clear, revealing a man he didn’t recognize, all broad shoulders and dark eyes, with an air of peaceful control about him. 

He looked like the kind of guy that people would immediately trust -calm and collected in the face of anything, like some kind of prince charming from a fairy tale, probably. 

“Uh, no.”

Squinting up at him, Tetsurou blinked, once, twice. “I definitely don’t remember bringing home a-” he cut himself off with a long yawn, resisting the urge to stretch the kinks out of his tired body. “-hot guy last night. What’re you-What’re you doin’ in my room?”

A soft snort puffed from the man’s lips and he gestured a hand at their surroundings, “I think a better question is what are you doing asleep in the library at seven in the morning on a Saturday.” 

Silence stretched between them as Tetsurou stared into space, puzzling over his words and casting a glance around the room, only to discover that he was not, in fact, in his apartment, but rather, had apparently fallen asleep sprawled across his study materials- in the campus library. 

“Oh,” he breathed, a harsh blush seeping into his cheeks as his mind finally caught up with where he was, and more importantly, what he’d just said to this absolute stranger.

This very attractive absolute stranger.

Whose amused smile and much tamer blush soothed Tetsurou ever so slightly; at least he wouldn’t be getting slugged by a homophobe first thing on a Saturday morning. "Don't worry about it. Coming from someone who has done the same thing, you really want to nap somewhere less likely to make your back ache for four days." His voice was deep, soothing and rich as he reassured him.

“Ah, thanks,” Kuroo managed to force out, a weak smile settling on his face to hide how he was internally mourning his pride. If the way that the man’s grin broadened slightly -and concealed a laugh with a cough- was anything to go by, he’d failed miserably. 

The stranger patted a hand against his shoulder sympathetically- or maybe condescendingly- then turned to head deeper into the stacks of books. “Good luck!” he called behind him with a wave. 

Empty calm settled over Tetsurou, the room suddenly feeling washed out and cold, except for the still burning shame that seemed to have paid a mortgage for real estate on his cheeks. 

And the buzzing in his shoulder where the man had clasped his hand for literally a fraction of a second.

What was wrong with him these days?

Kuroo shook himself, slinging his bag over his shoulder and stumbling his way out of the library, legs still heavy and uncoordinated from his awkward sleeping position. A bitter gust of winter air slammed into his face as the doors slid open, sending a harsh shudder through his body and leaving him to bite back a groan at the idea of having to walk home in the cold. 

Generally speaking, he didn’t mind winter, but freezing his ass off walking home first thing in the morning after a failed study session and far from enough sleep to keep him a fully functioning and happy human being was the last thing he wanted to do. 

Not like he had much choice in the matter, at least if he wanted to actually sleep at home, in his bed, like a normal person. 

And being bitter about the freezing temperatures was far preferable in comparison to overanalyzing the absolutely horrendous first impression he’d left on the hottest guy he’d had the misfortune of talking to all year. Hopefully, if he ignored it long enough, he’d forget, and it wasn’t likely he’d ever see the man ever again.

Which would be best for both of them.

The walk home wasn’t even long comparatively, only about 15 minutes, but a near herculean effort was required not to sink down in a snowdrift along the sidewalk and pass out, letting hypothermia take him if it so desired. 

But then Kenma would have to come to his funeral, and neither he, nor Bokuto, would recover from that experience, so Akaashi would be left to deal with both of them alone, or worse, with the more-harmful-than-helpful assistance of Tetsurou’s roommate and perhaps friend, Oikawa. All of that sounded like an endless disaster that he couldn’t have on his conscience as he died, so Kuroo kept going, the snow crunching underfoot as he let his eyes skate across the empty pathways.

He’d never seen the campus quite so empty after the sun rose, but then, he didn’t make a habit of getting up early either. 

Stumbling into his apartment just a few moments later, Kuroo slammed the door behind him and slumped against it, hollering into the room. “I just humiliated myself in front of the hottest guy.”

“You humiliate yourself in front of me everyday, Tetsu-chan.” A snarky drawl immediately piped back from the general direction of the sofa. 

Tetsurou tossed his shoes off and peeled off his -incredibly damp- socks with a scowl fixed on his face. “Shut the fuck up, I’m blaming you for this."

Tooru Oikawa’s ever perfectly sculpted mass of hair popped into view over the top of the couch as he twisted to aim a venomous glare in his direction. “Bitch. What do I have to do with your charming personality betraying you, as usual?”

“You’re the one that kicked me out for a booty-call or whatever,” he argued, very clearly recalling Oikawa’s rundown of his plans yesterday and the specific instructions to make himself scarce. 

“It was a tutoring session, but okay.”

He didn't need to look to know that his roommate was rolling his eyes at him, and really, he knew it wasn't Oikawa’s fault.

But it was so much easier to blame his problems on someone else. 

Kuroo whined, still scowling down at his soaking wet socks. “Well because of your ‘tutoring’, I fell asleep in the library, got woken up by the hottest guy, and absolutely humiliated myself.” Glancing up, he found Oikawa aiming his most classic ‘I-think-you’re-dumber-than-a-bag-of-hammers’ glare at him.

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t make you do anything, Tetsurou,” Oikawa snapped back, ticking off his fingers along with his points. “Second of all, you seem to have made a number of decisions well outside my sphere of influence since I have been here, in this apartment, all night, so I can’t imagine how it’s my fault that you absolutely suck at talking to people you’re attracted to and you would never be able to convince a jury that I am the one to blame.”

There wasn’t really anything he could say to dispute either of those points -not that it seemed like Oikawa was really done yet. So Kuroo settled for pettiness and hurled the soaked fabric in his hands directly at his roommate. 

Oikawa ducked gracefully to the side and let the socks sail past him, otherwise not even bothering to react. Likely because he knew that Tetsurou was hoping to distract him and obviously he couldn’t give him the satisfaction. "Third of all, now you've mentioned this guy and I need to know everything about him."

That was the absolute last thing that Kuroo was going to do, and not just because he didn’t have any information to give him, but because his roommate didn’t need any more weapons to use against him than he already had. Hesitating for only a moment, Tetsurou sprinted across the room and dove through his bedroom door with just enough time to lock it behind him before Oikawa was banging on it and whining obnoxiously. 

It was all in good fun. Mostly. 

He shoved his headphones in to block out the banshee screeching and collapsed on the bed, his aching body popping as it fully relaxed and stretched out after sleeping in a chair. As his eyes slipped shut and exhaustion fell over him, Kuroo hoped, distantly, that he and Oikawa would have long forgotten the hot library stranger by the time he woke up. 

\---

The campus of Tetsurou’s university was large enough that he tended to float around in comfortable anonymity, surrounded by strangers and rarely recognized by anyone familiar enough to actually engage with him. But his own mistakes managed to continue to haunt him, and lately it seemed like around every corner he found himself stumbling upon the broad shouldered man who’d woken him in the library.

Which is to say, Kuroo constantly found himself ducking into empty classrooms or spinning on his heels to avoid further humiliating himself in front of him.

Just the sight of him -or even someone who just looked like him- was enough to send adrenaline spiraling through his veins, anxious energy and embarrassment leaving his heart pounding.

It was no different when Tetsurou found himself narrowly avoiding eye contact with him for the third day in a row. He sucked a harsh breath between his teeth, suddenly feeling lightheaded, and resisted the urge to sprint in the opposite direction. That would just draw more attention to him and that was the last thing he wanted. 

Still, he turned and weaved back through the small crowd in the direction he’d originally come from.

“Where the fuck are you going, Tetsu-chan?” 

Oikawa’s annoyed yelp halted Kuroo in his tracks, his spine snapping ramrod straight as he pulled his head from the ridiculous fog that the stranger seemed to leave over him and remembered he’d been walking to class, with his roommate. “Uuuh, I just remembered class is cancelled so I’m gonna head to the library,” he blurted out, not even halfway convincingly, spinning back around to at least maintain eye contact.

A perfectly groomed eyebrow arched condescendingly and Oikawa’s lips curled back away from his teeth as he grinned sarcastically. “Oh, I see, y’know I’d love to be able to just trust you but we literally share that class and you’re my lab partner so you’re not ditching me without a fight.”

With a sinking certainty settling in his chest, Kuroo realized that, quite unfortunately, the devil was right. He was unlikely to get away with a second lie unless it was practically vacuum sealed. 

And he was fresh out of airtight alibis.

Groaning with every ounce of emotional pain currently weighing on him, Tetsurou, reached out and grabbed Oikawa’s arm, dragging him further away from the crowd without regard for the slender man’s whined protests. 

“Look,” he hissed, “I just saw the guy that I humiliated myself in front of the other day and I’d like to never make eye contact with him again because I might pass away from sheer embarrassment.”

That was halfway to a lie, since his aversion had more to do with the twisting in his stomach and cold sweat dripping down his back every time he even thought about the man, but it seemed to appease Oikawa at least momentarily. 

“Oh?” His roommate dug his heels in and craned his neck to scan the crowd they’d left behind. “Which one is he, I wonder…”

It wasn’t exactly a question, but Tetsurou knew he was expecting an answer, and he’d rather toss himself in a river. 

“I’m not fucking telling you that.”

Oikawa’s head snapped back to face him with the speed and force of a cursed doll in a horror movie and the empty, sugary smile stretching his lips was no less terrifying. “Do it or I’ll scream. Then he’ll definitely notice you.” 

An icy stone settled in his gut as he stared down the man he was fairly certain was secretly a demon, if not literally the devil himself. “You wouldn’t.”

“I definitely would.”

“...You definitely would.”

Kuroo whined melodramatically, surveying the crowd and wondering if he could get away with telling him that the stranger had already long disappeared. But, just as he'd thought his luck might come through, Tetsurou’s eyes landed on now familiar cropped, dark hair only a short distance away. 

And of course, because the universe had some sort of grudge against him about this guy, he immediately turned around and headed in Kuroo’s direction.

Stifling a yelp, Kuroo ducked his head and spun back to face his roommate- and his smug expression. 

As if he didn't feel pathetic enough already. 

“Don’t be obvious. He’s the dark haired one just off the path under that tree,” Tetsurou mumbled out, keeping his head down and sidling behind a nearby group to further decrease the chances of the man catching sight of him.

Rising on his toes, Oikawa peered through the crowd, shrieking happily after he located the correct person. “Wait! I know him!” He tapped a finger to his lips, furrowing his brows together in dramatized concentration. “Ooooh, what was his name?” 

“What did I just say?” Kuroo hissed, yanking Oikawa towards him, but having learned from prior experience, refrained from slamming his hand over his mouth “Keep it down, you fucking menace!”

The scathing glare that Oikawa fixed on him was practically dripping with condescension; he sniffed. “He’s not even that hot, I’m way prettier.” 

Tetsurou rolled his eyes, not even bothering to conceal it. Oikawa was pretty, prettier than anyone who was probably secretly a demon had any right to be. But pretty -slender limbs, high cheekbones, and perfectly styled hair- was not what left his brain stuffed full of cotton and his stomach turning like he’d eaten bad sushi.

Not that that aforementioned demon needed to know anyone made him feel like that. 

“What’s the big deal?” Oikawa continued when Kuroo didn’t offer a response. “Just talk to him if you’re into him. Maybe he thought you were endearing.”

A harsh shove sent Oikawa teetering on his feet and wailing as if he’d been gravely injured, but Kuroo made sure he was long gone before he recovered, settling on taking the long way to their class and arriving late. 

\---

One of the simple joys in Tetsurou Kuroo’s life was harassing the absolute shit out of Oikawa’s coworkers. His roommate worked at a nearby coffee shop and Kuroo rarely made a habit of missing the chance to bewilder and alarm new employees of the establishment. Recently, Oikawa had mentioned, in passing, a new guy who was apparently unshakeable when it came to customer interactions. 

Tetsurou had taken that as a personal challenge, naturally.

He’d gotten his sticky fingers on Oikawa’s work schedule, discovering, much to his delight, that both his roommate and the infamous ‘Daichi Sawamura’ were working together three times that week. Which all culminated in Kuroo pulling into the cafe drive thru at an ungodly hour, the sun just peaking over the horizon in the distance, and psyching himself up to put on a show.

“Hey, what can I get started for you?” A voice crackled through the speaker box, pleasantly low and charming, somehow familiar but certainly not his roommate- which could only mean it was his unsuspecting target. 

Allowing a wide grin to stretch across his face despite the poor guy not being able to see him, Kuroo poured all his energy into his best Shoyo Hinata impression and very cheerfully yelled, “What’s the sweetest, most diabetic coma inducing drink on your menu?”

Hardly a beat passed before the same patient voice echoed through the early morning air, “Um, I’d probably say the double chocolate caramel mochaccino, it’s white chocolate, chocolate, caramel, and chocolate chips blended with ice cream and espresso, topped with whip, drizzle and chocolate shavings.”

“Amazing, I’ll take one of those in a medium but can you add vanilla and put it in a large cup to add extra whip? It’s for my mom, she’s in the hospital and she just loves her sweets.”

Tetsurou found himself blinking innocently at the speaker as a long moment of silence passed before it cracked to life once more. 

“...Sure thing, not a problem.” The voice-presumed-to-belong-to-Daichi-Sawamura-whoever-he-may-be managed to force out around what was most likely a strangled laugh. “We’ll see if we can make one sweet enough to make her feel better.”

The man certainly deserved some credit for keeping his cool throughout the oversharing so early in the morning, but Kuroo was just getting started. 

“Oh nah. She’s gonna die,” he replied without an ounce of care, as blandly as if he were telling him what milk he wanted in his drink. 

A choked cough barked out, cutting off into an abrupt silence followed by, “I’m so sorry to hear that,” in an incredibly serious and composed manner. 

Despite himself, Tetsurou was impressed. “It’s cool man,” he yelled in the speaker, the same perky, Hinata-esque tone fixed back over his voice, “Could I also get six shots of espresso over ice and a red bull?”

There was not an ounce of hesitation before the reply came. “Will that be all for you today?”

“Yes, sir!” 

“We’ll see you at the window…”

He didn’t need to be told twice, Kuroo was practically vibrating with anticipation to make direct eye contact with the poor barista being paid to deal with his bullshit on this unfortunate morning. Pulling up to the window, he had to fight to keep a smug grin from creeping across his face.

Only to have it melt away when he stared through the window and directly into the dark eyes of the very same man he’d been running away from for weeks. Half of him wanted to scream that this was incredibly typical of his shitty luck.

The other half knew better and was completely certain that this was, without a doubt, 100% Oikawa’s fault- he’d been set up.

And he’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. 

“Know him my ass.” Kuroo hissed under his breath, wondering how difficult it would be to throw himself through the window to strangle Oikawa then and there. With a flimsy smile pasted on his lips, Tetsurou prepared himself to face the man he apparently could only leave a bad impression on.

Luckily, some god was smiling upon him that morning and the devil himself sprinted into view at top speed, bodily slamming Sawamura out of the way and leaning so far out the window he threatened to tumble straight into Kuroo’s car. 

“I cannot believe you just said that to him.” Oikawa shrieked, not even bothering to be subtle as he waggled his eyebrows at Kuroo.

The fake smile melted into a scowl, "You're a fucking ass, did you know that?" Tetsurou hissed.

"How could I forget with you to remind me every day?" his terrible demon of a roommate drawled in response. Oikawa’s cheeky grin told him that he knew exactly what he’d meant and had, in fact, orchestrated this particular downfall purely for his own amusement. 

The two of them stared at each other, Kuroo’s glare -usually scorching to those subjected to it- met only with a blank gaze of feigned innocence. 

Oikawa clapped his hands together cheerfully, withdrawing back through the window and winking at him. “Well, Tetsu-chan, I’ll just leave you in Sawamura-kun’s capable hands.”

Panic knifed through Tetsurou’s irritation, dissolving his thoughts of murdering the asshole and leaving his body in a river as Oikawa vanished from sight once more, leaving Kuroo making uncomfortable eye contact with the second bane of his existence.

Who, of course, had perfect dark brown eyes that were wide and endless and had probably seen every pathetic emotion written across Tetsurou’s face. 

If Sawamura was feeling any sort of off-kilter from their earlier conversation, or the interaction he’d witnessed between Kuroo and Oikawa, his face did not reveal it. “Here’s your drink, I hope your mom enjoys it,” he hummed, in that damnably composed way that Kuroo had never quite been able to pull off, but envied in many of the people around him. 

Prince Charming, indeed. 

It was infuriating, and attractive, and he was going to kill Oikawa and then himself. With nothing left to lose at this point, he grinned, wide and almost feral, showing off just a few too many teeth for comfort. “Oh, I don’t have a mom. Have a great rest of your day!” Tetsurou chirped, pulling away from the window with the utterly bewildered expression on Daichi’s face burned into the backs of his eyelids.

He couldn’t say if it was from satisfaction at having technically achieved his goal- or something else. 

\---

Tetsurou lounged in the corner of his living room, a mug of eggnog that was definitely spiked clasped between his fingers and head pounding in time with Jingle Bell Rock. The music playing out of multiple speakers was loud enough to vibrate in his chest, but didn’t seem to be bothering anyone but him.

When he’d agreed to let Oikawa host a Christmas party in their apartment he’d been picturing more of a small get together with their friends, a family dinner type beat with charades afterwards. This was less a cozy holiday party and more too many bodies, too loud music, and a foggy haze that had seemed to settle over the room to match his mood. 

Normally, a party like this would be right up his alley, but usually said party wasn’t in his house and he could leave if it was too much.

The air was thick with the scent of sugary vanilla and pine from the nearly dozen candles Oikawa had ‘strategically’ placed throughout the main living areas. The combination of that and the steady stream of alcohol he’d been chugging from a snowman shaped mug had Kuroo’s head spinning. 

He needed some goddamn air. 

Hauling himself to his feet, Tetsurou weaved carefully through the people grouped in every corner of the room, pausing briefly to elbow and grin at an uncomfortable looking Kageyama sitting stiffly on the couch. 

The rush of bitterly cold air that washed over him as soon as the balcony door slid shut behind him was a relief that only lasted half a second before he realized that someone else had apparently had the same idea.

And that someone was Daichi Sawamura, slumped casually in one of his lounge chairs and raising a curious eyebrow in his direction.

“Ah, sorry I-I’ll just-” Kuroo stuttered out nonsense as he turned to flee like a pitiful coward rather than finally face the guy who the universe -and Oikawa- seemed determined to put him in the same room as.

“Did I upset you or something?”

Sawamura’s voice, as smooth and as patient as every other time he’d spoken to him, froze Tetsurou in his tracks, his hand grasping the handle of the door. 

“Uh, what?” he asked dumbly, blinking at him in bewilderment. 

“You sort of, always look at me like I’ve stepped on your cat and then walk the opposite direction.” A smile tugged the edges of Sawamura’s lips when Kuroo twitched.

So he hadn’t managed to be quite as subtle in his avoidance techniques as he thought. 

With an awkward laugh bubbling in his chest, Tetsurou rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, “Uh, no. Just a little humiliated by the first impression you got of me. And the second. And this one.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Sawamura said, tipping his head to the side, his amused smile counteracted any soothing effect his reassuring words might have had. 

Kuroo’s mind, usually an ongoing trainwreck of thoughts, was disturbingly silent, as awkwardly empty as the space hanging between him and Sawamura. “So you’re a barista?” he blurted to fill the gap.

“You’re not very good at this, are you?” 

Heat rushed to fill his cheeks and he choked on his tongue, “Agh, usually I’m a lot better at it, actually.” Tetsurou was relieved he managed to respond at all while he was internally cursing himself to hell and back for acting like a fifteen year old with an awkward crush.

At the very least, he wasn’t fifteen. 

“I was expecting a little more from ‘Tetsu-chan’, you’re not exactly the arrogant menace I’ve heard so much about.” Sawamura’s pleasant smile never wavered. 

It was almost as polished as Oikawa’s, but more natural, less plastic. Kuroo was well aware that Oikawa hid fangs behind his mask, always a moment from lunging for someone’s throat, if it might benefit him to do so. Sawamura somehow made his mask look honest, as if he were really that patient and easy-going all the time. 

The antagonistic troublemaker within him needled spitefully at his conscience, urging him to test exactly how far that patience stretched. 

But even with the alcohol coursing through his bloodstream, Tetsurou wasn’t sure he was confident enough to pull that off. Instead, he finally tore his gaze away from him to stare blankly over the balcony. 

“Oikawa has a big mouth,” Kuroo muttered lamely, too busy wondering exactly what his meddling roommate had told Sawamura about him to think of a better insult. 

But the man just laughed. 

And Tetsurou knew he was screwed.

Cause his laugh sounded warm like sunshine on a chilly day, or rich and smooth like milk chocolate, or whatever other pathetically sappy thing his mind could summon with the limited braincells that stayed in his head whenever he was within five feet of Daichi Sawamura.

His companion stood up, and Kuroo realized he'd never actually stood face to face with him before. 

Perhaps the only victory that the universe had bestowed on him where this man was concerned was that he was several inches shorter than Tetsurou himself. And if Sawamura had been anyone else, he’d have already been hovering over him in some dramatic ploy to antagonize him about that fact.

But he wasn’t. Because with his current streak of absolute losses, that would backfire miserably and then Kuroo would somehow be even more fucked than he already was. 

Which, really, was already pretty fucked.

Sawamura headed for the door, but only made it a few steps closer to where Kuroo was still hovering near it when he tripped over his own feet. 

Without thinking, Tetsurou lunged to steady him, his mouth already opened to scold him on reflex. Only to have the words sputter and die on his tongue when suddenly his arms were very full of muscled limbs and tan skin that was softer than it really had any right to be. 

The force nearly toppled them both to the ground, but by a near superhuman feat Kuroo managed to keep them upright- barely. He blinked down at the man now half cradled in his arms pressed tight against his chest, jaw half slack and head so cavernously empty that he could hear the echo of the absence of thought.

His mouth opened. “Damn, literally falling for me is a little much, isn’t it?” Tetsurou heard himself say. 

Everything skidded to a halt. 

Brown eyes blinking up at him grew impossibly wider and a bright flush spread across Daichi’s cheekbones, twisting something in his stomach that almost felt pleased at evoking such a response. It almost made him forget that he was an absolute moron that was apparently stupid enough to blurt something like that out loud. 

He really couldn’t make a good impression to save his damn life. 

Kuroo stifled the urge to simply release his hold and let the man fall to the ground, which would hasten his escape but also make him an asshole in addition to a creep. Distantly, he registered that Sawamura’s mouth was moving and the muffled sounds in the background were probably him talking.

“Huh?” he blurted, very intelligently.

A soft sigh huffed out of Sawamura’s mouth as he repeated himself. “I said, you can let go of me now.” 

Ever so very abruptly Tetsurou realized he'd been holding the man against his chest for far longer than he should have without righting him. So, like any rational person, he shoved him away so hard that Sawamura almost fell anyway. 

A nonsensical apology sputtered from his lips as Kuroo reached forward to steady him again, holding back just before he actually touched him. 

The man laughed again, tossing his head back and halfway losing his composure for the first time since Tetsurou has sort of, not exactly, known him. “Let’s get a drink,” Sawamura said finally, around a grin that was so wide it would've looked predatory on himself.

But Sawamura looked just as perfectly charming as ever, turning around and heading inside without waiting for a response.

Ordinarily, Tetsurou Kuroo wasn’t one for following firm directions without at least digging his heels in a little, but he barely hesitated, already stumbling over his own feet to chase after him. 

Padding after Sawamura like a well trained dog should have been demeaning, but either the repeated humiliation had destroyed his sense of shame or he was just too deep in his thoughts, because Kuroo found he didn’t really mind looking stupid anymore. At least, not if it meant he’d get a drink with the hot guy who apparently did find his antics endearing, like Oikawa had suggested. 

The pair weaved through a much sparser crowd and into the kitchen, where his roommate -or one of his unwitting helpers- had set up several ‘festive’ buckets full of ice and drinks. Before Tetsurou could even open his mouth to ask what Sawamura’s poison of choice was, a sing-song voice trilled from behind them. 

“Tetsu-chan!” Oikawa’s saccharine giggles suggested he would regret the interaction they were about to have, regardless of whether he answered or not. 

He spun on his heel to raise an eyebrow questioningly, fixing a blank mask of impassiveness to hopefully ward off the inevitable teasing at least long enough to get Sawamura out of the room.  
But Oikawa didn’t say anything at all, which was alarming at best, opting instead to point enthusiastically at the ceiling over Kuroo’s head, all the while using his other hand to smother another bout of gleeful cackling. 

Tipping his head back, Kuroo squinted up at one of the dozens of decorations that Oikawa had scattered around the apartment. This particular one was on the simpler side, just a cluster of green leaves and white berries, tied in a large scarlet bow. 

Tetsurou’s eyes widened almost painfully as he jerked his head down to stare at Sawamura.

Who was standing, with him, under the mistletoe. 

Only, based on Sawamura’s confused, and slightly apprehensive expression, he hadn’t noticed the situation, giving Kuroo the brief hope that he might escape this with the last shreds of his dignity intact.

But that would be too much to ask of the universe, of course.

“Kiss him, you fucking coward!!” Oikawa hollered from across the room, because, y’know, if the devil works hard, Tooru Oikawa works harder. 

Lunging across the room towards his fiend of a roommate, fully intending to end his bloodline then and there, Kuroo took a single step and felt his foot skid across a puddle of spilt who-knows-what. The world tipped sideways faster than he could right himself. Just as he was bracing himself to hit the floor, he collided with a wall of warm muscled chest and found himself clutched in Sawamura’s arms in nearly the same position he’d been holding the man only minutes earlier. 

He knew from the sweltering heat exploding across his cheeks and burning down his neck that he was likely as scarlet as the bow of the plant still hanging just above them. And much like every other time he interacted with Sawamura, Kuroo’s mouth opened and spit out the first half formed thought to emerge. 

“Oh shit,” he breathed, slumped in his grip and trying to convince himself to struggle upright and away when he really didn’t want to cause when was the last time he wanted to be small and cared for and- “Did I just fall for you?”

Tetsurou’s own words registered a solid second too late to take them back, leaving him once again wishing for death with a head emptier than a golden retriever’s. 

Later, he would swear that Sawamura passed through every stage of grief in the next thirty seconds, a variety of pained expressions flashing across his face until it seemed like they’d both aged ten years. 

Distantly, he could hear Oikawa still shrieking with laughter and likely enjoying every damn second of the chaos he’d designed, but he’d already humiliated himself beyond repair and this angel of a man still hadn’t dropped him on the floor. Even after saying not one, but two ridiculously cheesy come-ons in the last five minutes, so, really, what did he really have left to lose?

Kuroo’s hand shot out to grip the collar of Sawamura’s shirt, tugging him down to crush their lips together, the impact awkward and harsh, because once again, he failed to ever be anything close to smooth and experienced with this guy. 

Then Sawamura gasped against his mouth and the arms around him trembled, but they didn’t push him away. Tetsurou tilted his head and they slotted together perfectly. His grip on his shirt loosened, letting his hand drift to grip the back of Sawamura’s neck, running through his cropped hair. They clashed with more passion and fervour than was appropriate for the middle of a party with his roommate only a few feet away, but Kuroo couldn’t bring himself to care when Sawamura’s lips were soft against his, giving way beneath his pressing force. 

It wasn’t until his lungs were burning from lack of air that he finally broke away, hovering mere inches from each other and soaking in some sort of pleased pride at the sight of Sawamura’s swollen lips and glassy eyes. 

Tetsurou panted, finally catching his breath enough to speak. “So uh, Sawamura-" 

"Daichi." 

His breath caught and stuttered painfully, and if he were feeling pathetic and poetic he might say his heart felt like it was fluttering in his chest like an anxious bird. "-Daichi, do you wanna go out sometime?”

Daichi’s laugh puffed across his lips, their faces still so close that he could see each individual eyelash framing the man’s dark eyes. “I’d like that.”

The smirk that spread across his face was more confident than anything Kuroo had managed to summon in his presence up to that point, but he couldn’t help the boost his ego was taking at the moment. The way he figured, maybe he wasn’t much of a Prince Charming, but he certainly didn’t mind being Daichi’s Damsel in Distress. 

Especially if it meant he’d get to kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone was wondering, the drive thru interaction is a very real scenario that happened to me in my real life, only they were Dead Serious. I think about it all the time.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed it and I should have more things to post later this week ajdsjksjkfgkfkdk
> 
> Happy Holidays, guys <3


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